


Build Me A House

by musicforswimming



Category: Firefly
Genre: Best Friends, Gen, Loyalty, Male-Female Friendship, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-03-10
Updated: 2009-03-10
Packaged: 2017-10-02 06:28:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicforswimming/pseuds/musicforswimming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Corporal Alleyne's old sergeant shows up with a business proposition for her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Build Me A House

**Author's Note:**

> Pre-series, post-war. Title from Bruce Springsteen's "Leah". Written for the purimgifts 'fest on LJ.

"Corporal?"

Saying that in the wrong neighborhood has every chance of getting both her and whatever damn fool was dumb enough to say it in a whole hot batch of trouble, and she's already snapping "Keep your voice down," when she looks up. She doesn't miss a beat when she sees Sarge, and adds -- not feeling a muscle in her face change -- "Sir."

"Bad neighborhood?" he asks. "You'd think they'd respect a man's service to his cause." He considers it, hand on his hip, and then adds, "Woman. Her cause. What times we live in, is my point. Shameful, ain't it?"

He's got that damn, damn, _damn_ fool smile on his face, means he's about to get himself into some other damn fool escapade, and Zoe sighs. "What can I do for you, sir?" she asks, stopping her cleaning and leaning against the bar. His smile's infectious, but she doesn't let herself catch it just yet, because it don't do to let him win these things too soon.

"Thought maybe I could get your advice on something. When's your next break?"  
   
   
   
   
He's yapping at her all the way to the shipyards, and the more he talks about this fancy new boat of his, the more sure she is that she wants no part of this, and her best course would be to talk him out of the entire notion. Get a steady job like she did -- backwater planets like these, ain't so bad tending bar for 'em, especially as most patrons just assume she fought for their side when they hear she was in the war. Gets to throw men out occasionally, too, and that's always good for a laugh.

Sarge -- "Mal, Zoe, come on, I been tellin' you since the treaty to call me Mal -- " is much too happy about this whole thing, and when Sarge is happy, that means things are about to get bad, because Sarge is a crazy man.

Naturally, she knows the ship he means the minute she sees it.  
   
   
   
   
She stands by her assessment -- it's a death trap, and there's no good can come of this, far as she can see. "Come on, Zoe," he says, turning to her in the cockpit. "What do you say?"

There's no good can come of much of anything these days, far as she can see. After she tells the manager she ain't coming back, Zoe pulls her old brown coat from out of her bag, and throws it on to wear on the way to the yard.


End file.
